V 16. Cherson. Building inscription of –elich and Gapr, VIII–IXth centuries C.E.

Monument

Type

Panel. 

Material

Limestone. 

Dimensions (cm)

H. 44.0, W. 38.0, Th. 12.0.

Additional description

On the front - small incised cross in the top left corner. Broken into 5 joining fragments; the bottom right corner is missing; the surface is weathered. 

Place of Origin

Cherson. 

Find place

Sevastopol (Chersonesos). 

Find context

North sector, Block IX, 2nd longitudinal street, wall infill. 

Find circumstances

1983, excavations of S.G. Ryzhov. 

Modern location

Sevastopol, Crimea. 

Institution and inventory

National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos, 37068. 

Autopsy

May 1999, August 2001, September 2002, September 2003, September 2004, September 2005, September 2006, September 2007. 

Epigraphic field 1

Position

In corners between the arms of the cross. 

Lettering

Lapidary. Letters are of varying heights; lines are uneven. Alpha with a loop; delta, minuscule lambda and sigma; eta with inward bent verticals; И-shaped nu; pi with extended horizontal. Ligatures: omicron-upsilon, pi-rho; irregular and faulty accents. 

Letterheights (cm)

1.5.

Epigraphic field 2

Position

On the entire front surface, except the top left corner. 

Letterheights (cm)

1.5–5.0.

Text

Category

Demonstrative, building inscription. 

Date

VIII–IXth centuries C.E. 

Dating criteria

Palaeography. 

Editions

L1. Vinogradov, Komar 2005, 3, 128–132; 1.1. Vinogradov, Komar 2005a, 38–56. 

Edition

1
[Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς] Χ̣(ριστὸ)ς
[νι]κᾷ.
2
Δι̣ὰ δυνάμε-
[ω]ς τοῦ κ(υρίο)υ ἡ-
[μῶν Ἰ(ησο)ῦ] Χ(ριστο)[ῦ] ἀνη-
κ[ε]ν̣ή[σθη ὁ να?]ὼς
5τοῦτος παρὰ
[.]ηλιχ τοῦ Ὀδ[.]-
[.]λη καὶ Γὰπρ
τοῦ Κα[.]ζ[.]-
ρη̣[.]ου.

Diplomatic

1
[...].Σ
[..]ΚΑ
2
Δ.ΑΔΥΝΑΜΕ
[.]ΣΤΟΥΚΥΗ
[......]Χ[.]ΑΝΗ
Κ[.].Η[......]ΩΣ
5ΤΟΥΤΟΣΠΑΡΑ
[·]ΗΛΙΧΤΟΥΟΔ[·]
[·]ΛΗΚΑΙΓΑΠΡ
ΤΟΥΚΑ[·]Ζ[·]
Ρ.[·]ΟΥ

EpiDoc (XML)

<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="1">
      <ab>
      <lb n="1"/><supplied reason="lost"><expan><abbr>Ἰ</abbr><ex>ησοῦ</ex><abbr>ς</abbr></expan></supplied>
      <expan><abbr><unclear>Χ</unclear></abbr><ex>ριστὸ</ex><abbr>ς</abbr></expan>
      <lb n="2"/><supplied reason="lost">νι</supplied>κᾷ.
      </ab>
   </div>
<div type="textpart" subtype="inscription" n="2">
      <ab>
      <lb n="1"/>Δ<unclear>ι</unclear>ὰ
      δυνάμε<lb n="2" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">ω</supplied>ς
      τοῦ
      <roleName><expan><abbr>κ</abbr><ex>υρίο</ex><abbr>υ</abbr></expan></roleName>
      ἡ<lb n="3" break="no"/><supplied reason="lost">μῶν</supplied>
      <supplied reason="lost"><expan><abbr>Ἰ</abbr><ex>ησο</ex><abbr>ῦ</abbr></expan></supplied>
      <expan><abbr>Χ</abbr><ex>ριστο</ex></expan><supplied reason="lost">ῦ</supplied> ἀνη<lb n="4" break="no"/>κ<supplied reason="lost">ε</supplied><unclear>ν</unclear>ή<supplied reason="lost">σθη</supplied> <supplied reason="lost">ὁ</supplied> <supplied reason="lost" cert="low">να</supplied>ὼς
      <lb n="5"/>τοῦτος παρὰ
      <lb n="6"/><seg part="F"><gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/>ηλιχ</seg> τοῦ Ὀδ<gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/><lb n="7" break="no"/><gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/>λη καὶ Γὰπρ
      <lb n="8"/>τοῦ Κα<gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/>ζ<gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/><lb n="9" break="no"/>ρ<unclear>η</unclear><gap reason="lost" quantity="1" unit="character"/>ου.
      </ab>
   </div>
 
Apparatus criticus

2.2: τοῦ: om. Vinogradov

Translation

1

Jesus Christ is victorious.

2

By the power of our Lord, Jesus Christ, this church (?) was restored by [.]elich, the son of Od[..]le and Gapr, the son of Ka[.]z[.]re[.]os.

 

Commentary

On the formula, see IV.3.C.e.

1-3. The formula is unique: cf. such formulae in other building inscriptions as ἐν δυνάμει Χριστοῦ (Lefebvre 1907, № 587; Philae, 537 C.E.) and δυνάμει Χριστοῦ (AEph 1917, 66; Niсopolis, 2nd half of the VIth century C.E.). In the early editions of Text 2, oversight led to the omission of τοῦ.

3-4. Concerning the term "restored," see commentary to V 176.

5. The colloquial form τοῦτος also occurs in V 219.

The script of this inscription is close to that of V 226. Since the stone was found in secondary use, it is impossible to make a suggestion about the original location of the church mentioned in the text: it probably originates from Cherson, or its vicinity. Judging from a number of details (the unique formula "by the power of our Lord, Jesus Christ," the clearly non-Greek names of the builders), we are dealing with a monument that falls outside the typical epigraphic tradition of Cherson. In addition, the epigraphic habit shows signs of decline in this specimen: uneven lines, letters of varying heights, misspellings (e.g., И instead of N), incorrect accentuation. Such features fit well with the non-Greek names of the dedicants.

For historical context, see Vinogradov, Komar 2005b

 

Images

 Photograph of face (from ??)

(cc) © 2015 Andrey Vinogradov (edition), Irene Polinskaya (translation)
You may download this inscription in EpiDoc XML. (This file should validate to the EpiDoc schema.)